A/N: I am so, so sorry that it's taken me this long to update. Hopefully it won't happen again, (famous last words), but I promise that however long the updates are I will finish this story. I've come too far not to! We're fast approaching the end now, it's on the horizon.

Chapter Fifty-Six – Of Children and Ghosts.

The Kenobi's parted ways with General Panaka and thanked him for his assistance. Sabé realised all too well that without his strategic quick thinking both she and her unborn child would be dead.

Maré was disappointed to hear that she would be losing her daughter sooner than expected, but when she was given the details of Cody's attack she saw that it was for the best that they leave as soon as possible. Mother and daughter hugged goodbye, both shedding tears at the separation. Somehow, knowing that Sabé was heading for an unlawful Outer Rim planet was far worse than when she had gone to the respectable Alderaan.

"Keep in touch, darling," Maré said, looking at her once more blue-painted daughter. "I need to know that you're safe. And my grandchild. Gods, that makes me sound old."

Sabé nodded, her false lekku bobbing from side to side. "I'll miss you."

"She's not coming with us," Obi-Wan quipped. "I'm not used to domestic."

"Well you'll have to learn," Maré scolded him. "I'm not having her living rough with the condition she's in."

"She won't be, Maré, I guarantee it. I swear on my honour."

"Your honour's as good as any, I suppose," she said with a twinkle in her eye. They all knew that she heartily approved of Sabé's choice of spouse. She had liked many a stupider person in her youth.

Finally, after many more farewells, the two were on their way again, walking towards the hangar. After a brief silence, Obi-Wan ventured, "About Cody."

"What about Cody?" Sabé replied in her poor Huttese, reminding him of their disguises.

Obi-Wan mentally kicked himself for the slight slip-up and switched languages. "The way you killed him. It was…so brutal. Not like you at all."

She shrugged. "I don't know what came over me. I just felt this overwhelming urgency to eliminate the threat at once, in the quickest way possible. It was some kind of maternal instinct, I guess."

"It was bordering on Jedi-like."

"Well, I think your former master had a hand in it. I deflected blaster bolts, you know. There's no way I could do that on my own. Not without an extraordinarily large amount of luck."

"In my experience there's no such thing as luck."

"In that case it was fortunate he was on hand or things could have become very messy," she retorted.

He eyed her, her image looking bizarrely purple through the lenses of his mask. "You don't consider cut-in-half clones to be messy?"

She smiled slightly. "Fair point."

They approached the hangar in comfortable silence. Then Obi-Wan broke it by saying softly, "Steady now, someone here may understand Huttese."

Sabé nodded, keeping her eyes peeled. "Gods, you were in a hurry, weren't you," she voiced upon noticing their ship. "In all my life I've never seen such sloppy parking."

He grimaced, although she couldn't see it. "I had other things on my mind."

"Quite right too."

Their departure from Naboo went relatively smoothly. They were held up only by the cloth trader in the next docking bay whose past experiences had resulted in a deep distrust of Rodians. Fortunately, Obi-Wan's talents that had earned him the nickname Negotiator during the Clone Wars came into play once again and they were soon on their way.

Obi-Wan made a smooth landing in Mos Eisley an indistinguishable amount of hours later. Despite the presence of his wife there, it still didn't feel much like a homecoming. Especially considering the lengthy eopie ride that lay between them and the humble cave home he had made for himself. Sabé's condition made her less tolerant against the heat of Tatooine's twin suns and they had to stop for many rests before finally reaching the outcrop of rock that hid the former Jedi Master's dwelling.

"I hate this planet," Sabé muttered to herself, pausing to empty sand out of her boot.

"It has its advantages," Obi-Wan countered. "The sunsets are quite beautiful."

"I'll take your word for it."

As they approached the well-concealed door in the rock face, Obi-Wan located and activated the panel and the door slid open. Sabé stepped inside the modest home and looked around.

"It's sparse," Obi-Wan apologised, "and retrieving water can be difficult, but–"

"Shh," Sabé pacified, reaching for his hand. "I like it. It's our first home together, that makes it perfect."

He smiled at her. Compared to what she had been used to on Naboo and Coruscant the little cave home was poor and humble and yet there she was turning it into a palace with reasoning alone.

She noticed his gaze and asked, "What?"

"You," he replied at once. "You make everything wonderful, never mind how awful it may be. I'm so glad I married you."

She was touched by the heartfelt words. "I'm glad too."

Over the following months, Obi-Wan and Sabé Kenobi enjoyed their first taste of a 'normal' domestic life. On occasion they almost forgot that they were supposed to be watching over the galaxy's hope for the future. But as they made a point of visiting the Lars homestead at least once a month, young Luke was never forgotten for long.

Sabé was not in the least surprised that he was growing up to be a spitting image of Anakin. She just hoped that the equal balance of Anakin's power and Padmé's goodness was enough to keep him on the straight and narrow.

On their visits they made sure never to cross Owen's path. The moisture farmer had developed a deep distrust for Jedi and always shooed Obi-Wan off his land if he caught sight of him, (All this resulted in, however, was Obi-Wan merely making sure he was never seen).

If they managed to find Beru alone she allowed them to come in. As Sabé's nine months gradually slipped away, Beru offered her aunt's services to assist with the birth. To call a doctor would be too risky, plus too much of an expense. Beru's aunt would do it as a favour and also had experience, as she had helped deliver Beru.

So when Sabé informed Obi-Wan in a mildly panicked tone that the time had come, Lana Whitesun was quickly summoned. Obi-Wan was allowed to stay and hold his wife's hand, as he proved to be a husband that helped rather than hindered. Fortunately for the Kenobi's, the birth went smoothly and Sabé was soon cradling her new baby daughter. After thanking Lana and escorting her home, Obi-Wan joined his family and declared that child was indeed Force-sensitive.

"You were right then," Sabé said in a weary voice. "All those years ago, you were completely right."

"It has been known," Obi-Wan quipped, letting his daughter's tiny hand curl round his finger. "There's no need to be quite so surprised."

Sabé smiled. "Is she part of this hope for the galaxy?" Like Luke and Leia?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly. "I don't know. She's surrounded by destiny. I know that's a bit vague, but it's the only way I can think to describe it."

Sabé bent to kiss her daughter's forehead. "I have faith in her."

"We haven't given her a name."

"I'd quite like to name her after my mother, but Maré sounds too Nabooian."

Obi-Wan thought for a while. "Well how about a variation on it? What about…Mara?"

Sabé glanced down at the child. "Oh, I like that."

Mara yawned and briefly opened her eyes before swiftly falling asleep again. "Her eyes are green," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"In that case I have a middle name for her – Jade. She can be Mara Jade Kenobi."

"Perfect," Obi-Wan praised, kissing them both. "She's perfect. And so are you."

"And you, of course." Sabé smiled at him. "I wonder which side of the family the green eyes come from. Neither of us know what our real parents look like."

"I used to have a holo-portrait, but that's not much help."

"It doesn't matter," Sabé rationalised. "What matters is that she has them and they're beautiful."

"How do you always manage to make so much sense?" Obi-Wan whispered, as his exhausted wife fell asleep. He carefully placed Mara in her cot and promptly joined them both in slumber, one arm placed protectively around Sabé's waist.

Several happy months passed and Mara continued to grow. She developed a shock of auburn hair that seemed to enhance her emerald eyes. It was quite clear, especially to her parents, that she was going to grow up to be a very striking young woman.

Some weeks after Mara's first birthday, Sabé received a letter through Beru. It was from Saché on Alderaan.

From: Sara Merian, Alderaan Palace, Alderaan

To: Beru Lars, Lars Homestead, Nr. Mos Eisley, Tatooine

Dear Mrs Lars,

I'd be very grateful if you would pass this letter onto Sabé Kenobi. Thank you very much,

Sara Merian.

Dear Sabé,

How are you? I hope this letter finds you safe and well on Tatooine. It's awful not being able to write as often as I'd like. I hate not knowing what you and Obi-Wan are up to. I don't even know what your baby's called.

Anyway, enough of my moaning. I am writing for a proper reason. I managed to locate Dormé and Typho and we write to each other occasionally. They're in hiding, still on Naboo but I won't tell you where just in case. Recently, Dormé told me that there have been sightings of a spirit in the ruins of Varykino Lodge. Apparently children used to swim over and play there, but seeing this ghost has scared them off. It's very strange, but looking at all the reports it seems as though this ghost is Padmé. I know it's ridiculous, but I can't help but wonder. Bail and Breha are giving me time off to go and find out what's going on. I was writing to ask if you and Obi-Wan wanted to join me. This is too odd to pass up.

Let me know as soon as you can. If you can make it, I'll meet you in the little café near the riverbank, the one we used to visit on our days off. I'll be disguised as an Alderaanian tourist.

Hope to see you soon,

Love,

Saché.

Sabé read the letter aloud to Obi-Wan, a curious expression gracing her face. "Ghosts on Naboo," she said. "Is that possible?"

Obi-Wan took the datapad from her to read the letter for himself. "It's unusual, but so called 'ghosts' of passed Jedi have been seen on occasion. I saw one myself. So did you, in fact."

Sabé cast her mind back to her wedding day and the glimpse of Qui-Gon that she had caught out of the corner of her eye. "Yes. But Padmé?"

Obi-Wan could only offer a shrug. "I don't know. We'll have to go and find out."

Sabé's face broke out in a smile at the thought of seeing Saché again. "It would provide a good chance to show mother her grandchild."

So the Kenobi's, dressed as a family of Alderaanians, once again found themselves flying to Naboo. Sabé and Obi-Wan had dyed their hair black and tinted their skin with the tanned complexion that many Alderaanians possessed. It was surprising how seemingly minor changes made such a big difference to their appearance.

Saché was sitting in the café that she had mentioned, nursing a cold cup of caf. She did not look herself, but she was not unrecognisable to someone who knew her as well as Sabé did. The two friends grinned at each other and hugged. Saché was so pleased to see them that she even leapt to hug Obi-Wan too, making them all laugh. As predicted, she cooed over Mara and was thrilled to be asked to be a godmother. Sabé also asked her to pass on the same invitation to the Organa's.

The group relocated to Maré's house for a painfully short visit and moved on to the Lake Country. Once they reached Varykino they created a makeshift camp and took turns to sit up during the night to keep watch. For a number of days nothing occurred. Then one night there was a different type of energy in the atmosphere. Sabé was taking the first watch, but was presently joined by Saché who claimed she couldn't sleep.

"I can't believe," she whispered, settling herself down next to Sabé, "that after all we've been through we've ended up ghost hunters."

"There are worse things to be," Sabé retorted with a smile.

"What, like chief Bantha dung collector or Hutt palace cleaner? Or Hutt cleaner, come to that."

Sabé doubled up in silent laughter. "Hutt cleaner?"

"Well, look at their arms, they can't very well clean themselves can they?"

The two women stifled their giggles, for a moment taken back to their youth as handmaidens. A dragging sound caught their attention, halting their conversation. "What in the name of Veruna was that?" Saché asked validly.

"I don't know. Listen." The sound repeated itself.

The two glanced around the darkened ruins, wide-eyed. Saché spotted it first, a white misty shape out of the corner of her eye. Wordlessly, she clutched Sabé's arm, directing her attention to it. Before their eyes the shape refined itself, eventually forming the figure of a woman in a white dress. Sabé reached out a hand to prod Obi-Wan in the back, waking him immediately. He sat up and followed their gaze.

"She was right," Saché breathed, barely making a sound. "It is Padmé."

Obi-Wan noted this fact and quickly slipped into a Force trance, attempting to gain answers to how and why the former Senator could be haunting. Sabé and Saché sat and watched as the spirit of their friend wandered around, turning this way and that.

"She looks lost," Sabé noted in a whisper. "I hope Obi-Wan can help her."

"Lost is the right word for it. Her movements are so erratic."

They watched until the spectre faded away. Several times she had looked towards them but hadn't appeared to see them. Obi-Wan emerged from his trance looking tired and frustrated.

"What happened?" Saché asked.

He glanced at the two curious faces. "Difficult to say. I contacted Master Qui-Gon to ask, but he was typically cryptic. He said that Padmé's unfulfilled life left a stain on her. She can't pass over."

"How can we help her?" Sabé asked.

"He said we couldn't."

"We can't? At all? How can we just leave her here?"

Obi-Wan held up a hand. "He was very specific that we ourselves couldn't help her, but he also mentioned that someone else could."

Saché raised an eyebrow. "Who? How do we find them?"

"We don't," the Jedi said. "Master Qui-Gon told me that they would find her by themselves."

Sabé and Saché did not look too satisfied by this reply but knew better than to question the wisdom of two Jedi Masters. The following morning they departed Varykino. Obi-Wan was to fly straight back to Tatooine, but Sabé and Saché decided to spend a few days with Maré. Obi-Wan agreed to this, although he didn't seem to like it too much.

He kissed Mara goodbye and pulled Sabé into a hug. "I love you," he told her. "Be safe and I'll expect you in a week's time."

Sabé stood on her toes to kiss him. "Have a safe journey, my love." She and Mara watched him until they could see him no more before turning to join Saché and Maré.

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A/N: Next chapter: Sabé, Saché and Mara set out for their spaceport, but trouble is lurking nearby.